


Freeze

by marshie_marshmallow



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode: s01e17 Queen for a Day, Gen, Hypothermia, TTS Gen Week 2021 (Disney)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-13 15:41:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29280876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marshie_marshmallow/pseuds/marshie_marshmallow
Summary: Teenagers really shouldn't run around in blizzards.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 56





	Freeze

**Author's Note:**

> Gen Week Day 5: Letter / Warmth / Breath
> 
> I might go back and write other stuff for this au just because. It changes so much.

Varian couldn’t really feel any of his limbs or his face by the time he was in the castle. The only thought running through his head was finding Rapunzel, which he achieved by heading towards the flickering firelight coming out of one of the rooms. Inside was Rapunzel, Cassandra, Nigel, and the Captain of the Guard.

He tripped over his own feet and stumbled to the ground as he tried to approach her. Vaguely, he was aware of someone behind him before someone reached under his arms and pulled him up. They were… saying something. Suddenly, the person holding him let go and he pitched forward, only barely grabbing onto the table in front of him.

“Ra… Rapunzel…”

“Varian?” She looked concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“Need…” His brow furrowed. Why _was_ he here?

“Varian?” That wasn’t Rapunzel speaking now. He recognized the voice but couldn’t quite place it for some reason. “Varian, are you okay?”

He swayed, trying to keep his grip on the table. He was here for a reason. Something… something important. “Need… help.” Yes, he needed help with… with…

His grip on the table went slack and his knees buckled. A pair of arms wrapped around him before he could fall and lowered him gently to the ground. Blinking, he looked up at black hair and a pair of concerned gray eyes. Then there was something being pressed against a spot on his throat.

“Your pulse is slow,” the person holding him said. “And your breathing is-”

Another face entered his vision, this one with a shiny gold helmet and mustache.

“Probably hypothermia,” the second person said in a gruff voice.

“He needs medical attention.” The arms wrapped tighter around him, pressing his face up against something fuzzy and soft and _warm_. “I’ll take him to the other room and get the medics to look at him.”

“Will he be alright?” Rapunzel asked from somewhere beyond his vision.

“The castle medics are good at their job. They’ll know how to take care of him.”

One of the arms moved under his legs, scooping him up and holding him close. It was so warm… Come to think of it, he was really tired. He could really just… press his face up against the fuzzy thing and close his eyes…

“It’s gonna be okay, Raps,” the voice said, distantly, before he slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

_Warm._

That was the first coherent thought that ran through his head. There was something warm wrapped around him. A blanket? Must be. His body felt cold, so he pulled the blanket closer, turning onto his side.

“Varian?”

Was that his dad? Probably. He must be sleeping in late again. He knew he needed to get up and do his chores but he didn’t _want_ to get up. He curled his knees up to his chest and tried to ignore it.

“Varian, are you awake?”

Well, of course he was awake. He was just pretending not to be.

“Varian, if you can hear me, please say something.”

Wait… that wasn’t Quirin’s voice.

Varian’s eyes drifted open, scanning for whoever was speaking. Slowly, they settled on a man sitting in a chair by the bed. The person was certainly a lot _smaller_ than his father, though that wasn’t saying much given that Quirin was huge. Brown hair, goatee… He knew who this man was.

“... Flynn?” he muttered. Now that he was becoming more alert, he realized his throat felt sore and talking _hurt_.

The man looked slightly irritated for a moment before softening his expression. “Okay, first of all, it’s Eugene. I’ve told you. Second, I’m glad to see you’re awake.”

“... Wake…” he blinked his eyes a few times as he glanced around. This wasn’t his room. This wasn’t his _house_. “Where ‘m I…?”

“The castle. Do you remember what happened?”

“‘Member…?” He frowned. What _was_ he doing in the castle? He remembered _leaving_ it and then… the rocks? His lab? Something… His dad. An argument and then…

_The amber._

His dad was in trouble! Why was he lying around in a bed in the castle? He should be in Old Corona!

He pushed himself up and tried to throw the blanket off, shivering when the cold air hit him. He noticed vaguely that the pajamas he was wearing weren’t his own but he couldn’t think about that. He needed to get home and see if Quirin was alright.

Eugene grabbed his shoulders, pushing him back down. “Hey, kid, stop that!”

“Need… Dad… Help…” He struggled against Eugene’s grip. “Gotta… go.”

“You need to stay here.” The hands pushed him back down onto the bed, before one of them moved to pull the blanket back over him. “You nearly froze to death out there!”

That made him pause for a moment before he started struggling again, though it was a futile effort given how much stronger Eugene was. The fact that he felt extremely fatigued didn’t help in that department, either. “Dad… Gotta help…”

“Your dad needs help?”

Varian stopped moving, looking up into Eugene’s concerned eyes, before nodding.

“Okay. Okay. I’ll tell Blondie. She’ll make sure your dad gets help. But _you_ -” there was an extra weight on his shoulders for a moment as he was pushed deeper against the mattress - “need to stay here and rest.”

Blondie? Oh, he must mean Rapunzel. That was right, wasn’t it? He was pretty sure he had gone after her for her help anyway. Yeah, she was connected to the rocks. She’d be able to fix it.

“... Promise?”

“Promise.” Eugene’s hands lifted off of his shoulders. “I’ll go tell her right now but _you_ have to promise not to move from that bed.”

“O… Okay.”

“You promise?”

“Uh-huh.”

Eugene straightened up and walked towards the door. Right before stepping out of the room, he took one last look at Varian. “Don’t worry, kid. Everything’s gonna be fine.”

* * *

For the next several hours, most of which he admittedly slept through, the only people to visit Varian were the medics. According to them, he was lucky he had made it all the way to the castle before he passed out. In addition, it was nothing short of a miracle that he hadn’t gotten frostbite, which likely would have required amputation. He _had_ fallen ill - which explained his sore throat and fatigue among many other things- but, if his luck kept up and he obeyed the doctor’s orders, he shouldn’t have many complications in his recovery.

The sun outside the room’s window was setting when the door opened and Rapunzel stepped in, carrying a tray with a bowl and glass of water.

“Oh, you’re awake.” She sounded relieved. “Eugene said you had woken up but I came by earlier and they said you were asleep again.”

She moved towards the bedside table that his goggles were resting on. Recognizing her intentions, Varian propped himself up on one elbow and grabbed them so she could set the tray down. Once it was out of her hands, she pulled the chair closer and sat down.

“How are you feeling?”

“‘M fine…” he muttered. “What about Dad…? Thought you were gonna…”

She frowned. “Sorry. I’ve been really busy with helping to oversee repairs and recovery from the blizzard so I couldn’t go out to Old Corona myself. But Cass volunteered to check the situation for me. She should be back soon.”

He tried to push himself up further on his elbows, goggles still grasped in his fist. “Need _you_...”

She reached behind him to prop up the pillows and help him sit up as she replied. “Me…? You need me to help with whatever is wrong?”

He nodded. “Rocks.”

She clearly recognized what he meant by that without further clarification. “Whatever it is, I’ll see what I can do to help.” Her eyes drifted to the tray and she perked up. “Oh, I almost forgot! You should eat before this gets cold.”

* * *

When Cassandra returned about an hour later, Rapunzel left the room to talk with her and Eugene in the hallway. Varian could hear their low voices through the cracked door but couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. He had a sinking feeling that he knew _exactly_ what the situation with the amber was, though.

The looks on the trio’s faces when they came back in the room confirmed it even before Cass opened her mouth.

“Varian, I am _so_ sorry,” was all she said.

His hands curled into fists around the bedsheets and his whole body shook as hot tears formed in his eyes. Quietly, Rapunzel sat down on the edge of the bed and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her face into his hair. 

“It’s gonna be okay,” she murmured. “We’ll figure something out.”

Eugene leaned over and put a hand on his back, while Cass sat on the end of the bed by his legs. They all felt so _warm_ as he buried his face in the crook of Rapunzel’s neck.

“It’s alright. I’m here. We’re all here.”

“Right,” Cass agreed. “And we’ll help. Once you’re ready to travel again, we’ll all go and try to fix this.”

He looked at her through watery eyes and silently nodded. It was gonna be okay. Everything would be okay.

His friends were here, after all.


End file.
